July 23 (Reuters) - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits for the first time fell sharply last week, indicating the U.S. job market continues on an even keel and leaving Federal Reserve officials to keep their focus on containing inflation.

Initial claims for state jobless benefits dropped by 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 187,000 for the week ended July 18, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 212,000 new claims for the latest week.

Covering the survey week for the national employment report for July that will be issued in about two weeks, Thursday's report was the latest to signal continued stability in the labor market. Meanwhile, the number of people on jobless benefit rolls for more than a week, a proxy for hiring, fell to 1.796 million in the week ended July 11.

The unemployment rate dipped unexpectedly in June to a one-year low of 4.2%, although that was more the result of a decline in the workforce than a boom in hiring. 

The U.S. job market has been characterized by an unusual balance between a restrained supply of available workers, a low-key pace of job creation and limited layoffs that has allowed the jobless rate to remain at an historically low level. That dynamic has driven a growing cadre of Fed policymakers to become more vocally concerned about inflation that remains well above their 2% target than about a resilient job market.

The Fed meets next week and is expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but rate futures markets are positioned for the central bank to deliver at least one quarter-percentage-point rate hike before the year is out.